High quality infrared imaging systems are available, but many of these systems require expensive active cryogenic cooling, which limits imaging applications. The necessary cooling system requires additional energy and makes the imaging system larger, heavier, and more complex, and therefore more expensive to construct and operate.
In attempting to overcome one or more of these problems, uncooled infrared imaging systems have been developed. Uncooled infrared imaging systems typically include microbolometer elements or interferometers.